Kukla's Korner Hockey

Entries with the tag: ahl

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and Chief Executive Officer David Andrews announced today that the Colorado Eagles have been approved as an expansion franchise for the 2018-19 season.

The Eagles will be the new primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Colorado Avalanche when they begin play in the AHL’s Pacific Division at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colo., in October 2018.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced that the league’s Board of Governors, convening for its Spring Meeting earlier this week in Chicago, Ill., has approved the following division alignment for the 2017-18 AHL season:

The AHL teams played through a downpour on Saturday night at Bakersfield College’s Memorial Stadium, a game that ended with the host Condors coming from behind to win 3-2 in overtime.

After a halt in the first period caused by an issue with the glass near the Reign bench, the two teams returned to play the final 4:53 of the opening period on practically a pond as the rain wouldn’t let up and the game simply went on.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League today released the complete schedule of regular-season games for the 2016-17 season, the league’s 81st year of operation. The season, comprising 1,116 games, begins on Fri., Oct. 14 and concludes on Sat., Apr. 15.

Teams will play 76 games each (38 at home, 38 on the road) with the exception of Pacific Division members Bakersfield, Ontario, San Diego, San Jose, Stockton and Tucson; those six teams will play 68 games each (34 home, 34 road).

Rule 46 (“Fighting”)/Rule 23 (“Game Misconducts”)
• Players who enter into a fight prior to, at, or immediately following the drop of the puck for a faceoff will be assessed an automatic game misconduct in addition to other penalties assessed.

• During the regular season, any player who incurs his 10th fighting major shall be suspended automatically for one (1) game. For each subsequent fighting major up to 13, the player shall also be suspended automatically for one (1) game.

• During the regular season, any player who incurs his 14th fighting major shall be suspended automatically for two (2) games. For each subsequent fighting major, the player shall also be suspended automatically for two (2) games.

• In any instance where the opposing player was assessed an instigator penalty, the fighting major shall not count towards the player’s total for this rule.

Rule 82 (“Icing”)
• In addition to not being permitted to make player substitutions, the offending team on an icing violation also may not use its team time-out.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League has announced the complete schedule for the 2016 Calder Cup Finals between the Eastern Conference champion Hershey Bears, top development team of the NHL’s Washington Capitals, and the Western Conference champion Lake Erie Monsters, top development team of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League today released the complete schedule of regular-season games for the 2015-16 season, the league’s 80th year of operation. The season, comprising 1,120 games, begins on Fri., Oct. 9 and concludes on Sun., Apr. 17.

All teams will play 76 games each (38 at home, 38 on the road) with the exception of the clubs which joined the AHL in January as part of the creation of a Pacific Division (Bakersfield, Ontario, San Diego, San Jose, Stockton); those five teams will play 68 games each (34 home, 34 road).

The making of the 2015-16 AHL schedule is a process that actually began about six months ago, and will culminate when the final product is released to the public in the coming weeks. (Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates regarding the release of the schedule.)

The AHL’s constitution calls for each member club to submit to the league, in February of the previous season, a list of "primary" and "secondary" dates on which they would be available to play at home, along with "blackout" dates when they cannot play at home because of other events in their arena.

In the spring, the AHL confirms for each team a list of guaranteed dates for the upcoming season -- dates on which the team is assured of playing a home game, albeit without a specific opponent just yet. This allows clubs to begin making preparations and drumming up interest in the coming year. Many teams have already announced their guaranteed dates, some including their home openers, for 2015-16.

Once a schedule format (who plays whom, and how often) is designed by and approved by the Board of Governors, the schedule can truly begin to take shape.

The schedule board hangs on one full wall in the office of Michael Murray, the AHL's executive vice president of hockey operations. He and Melissa Caruso, the league's VP of hockey administration, are charged with transforming the board from its blank starting point to a collage of markers representing the 2015-16 slate.

Creating the schedule is a tedious process, not unlike putting together a 5,760-piece jigsaw puzzle without a picture on the box to work from. Computerized scheduling programs have been considered, but the manual process continues to produce the best results.

Yingst is a member of the AHL's Board of Governors, which last week made it official that the Bakersfield Condors (Edmonton Oilers), Ontario Reign (Los Angeles Kings), San Diego Gulls (Anaheim Ducks), San Jose Barracuda (San Jose Sharks) and Stockton Heat (Calgary Flames) will play 10.5 percent fewer regular-season games.

It was that or risk their potential AHL exit....

As a practical matter, it will only affect the Western Conference teams, particularly the Texas-based members of the Pacific Division. The San Antonio Rampage and Texas Stars will play 76 games (standings positions will be decided by points percentage rather than straight points).

Every team in the Eastern Conference will play the same number of games.

"It would be nice if there was some common ground where everybody was playing the same amount of games," Bears head coach Troy Mann said. "But from our perspective, the Eastern Conference is all set at 76.

"You hope maybe once everybody gets a feel for the new teams, the new division alignments, that maybe they come to some agreement where everybody can play the same amount of games. It's not for me to determine that. Overall, we can't really worry about it. We've got to just worry about the conference itself."

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced that the league’s Board of Governors, convening for its Spring Meeting today in Chicago, Ill., has approved the following division alignment for the 2015-16 AHL season (National Hockey League affiliates in parentheses):

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced today that the league’s Board of Governors has unanimously approved the following:

• The transfer of ownership of the Hamilton Bulldogs franchise to Club de Hockey Canadien Inc., owners of the National Hockey League’s Montreal Canadiens.

• The relocation of that franchise from Hamilton, Ont., to St. John’s, N.L., beginning with the 2015-16 season.

• The relocation of the AHL franchise owned by True North Sports & Entertainment Ltd., owners of the National Hockey League’s Winnipeg Jets, from St. John’s, N.L., to Winnipeg, Man., beginning with the 2015-16 season.

Division alignments and schedule formats for the 2015-16 season will be determined by the Board of Governors at a later date.

The Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa discusses the Kane-for-Myers trade, Phil Kessel's value and a very intriguing concept in Patrice Bergeron's status as a "bumper" power play playerr in his notebook. However, as someone who's taken in an AHL game or three, this statement about the trade deadline's most understated (and sometimes effective) moves strikes me as the most pertinent part of Shiznawa's notebook:

Between now and the trade deadline on March 2, some good AHL players will change organizations. For example, at last year’s deadline, the Kings acquired Brayden McNabb from Buffalo in a package that sent Nicolas Deslauriers and Hudson Fasching to Buffalo. At the time of the trade, McNabb was playing for Rochester, Buffalo’s AHL affiliate. Likewise, Deslauriers was in Manchester, Los Angeles’s farm club. McNabb is now a regular varsity defenseman. Deslauriers has been with Buffalo all season.

It’s not so easy, however, for NHL teams to accumulate maximum information on AHL prospects. At the NHL level, a GM can fire up his iPad and view every player’s shifts with a few finger taps. There’s no such ease to watch an AHLer’s shifts. It would not take much of an investment from the 30 NHL teams to equip every AHL facility with high-definition cameras, preferably at both ends of the rink, and synch it with real-time stats information. The improvement in scouting reports would pay for the up-front cost.

Shinzawa continues, and I'm still baffled as to why AHL teams' NHL affiliates--for the most part--haven't pushed for the kinds of shift charts, shot-mapping and implementation of advanced video scouting via some sort of standardized recording, broadcasting and distribution of AHL games, if only for within-team purposes.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced today that the league’s Board of Governors has formally and unanimously approved the steps necessary to create a Pacific Division within the AHL beginning with the 2015-16 season.

The NHL will make it official Thursday afternoon: Five franchises -- including the Sharks -- are moving their top American Hockey League affiliates to California next season.

The 12:30 p.m. PT announcement will be made at the SAP Center -- the rink both the Sharks and their relocated development team will call home. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and AHL president David Andrews will be on hand along with representatives of the Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers.

"It really helps us with the most important things that we do, draft and develop players" Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said Wednesday.

That’s why as early as next season, there could be a titanic transformation in the AHL. The NHL’s chief development league is well on its way toward several relocations of eastern markets to western markets that’ll include some and eventually maybe all of the above teams.

“It’s a work in progress,” said David Andrews, the AHL’s president and CEO who attended Wednesday’s Wild-Montreal Canadiens game. “It has been for about 30 months. I would say the work is getting a little more intense, and I would say it’s eventually going to happen. We’re essentially working on a framework.

“Our relationship with each of the NHL teams is what our league is about, so if that’s what they want for player development, we’re committed to work with them and make it happen.”

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League today announced that Adirondack Flames left wing Trevor Gillies has been suspended for twelve (12) games as a consequence of his actions in a game at Rochester on Oct. 10.

Gillies was suspended under the provisions of AHL Rule 28.1 (supplementary discipline).

Gillies will miss Adirondack’s next 12 scheduled games. He will be eligible to return to the lineup on Nov. 15 at Lake Erie.

NEW YORK/SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Aug. 28, 2014) – An education and drug testing program will be implemented for American Hockey League players, effective for the 2014-15 season, the National Hockey League and American Hockey League announced today.

The details of the AHL program, which was the result of a collaborative effort between the two leagues (NHL and AHL), the National Hockey League Players’ Association and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (which represents AHL players in collective bargaining), substantially replicate the collectively bargained policies already in place for NHL players.

The AHL drug testing program will be administered by the doctors who supervise the NHL/NHLPA Performance-Enhancing Substances Program and the Substance Abuse/Behavioral Health Program.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League today released the complete schedule of regular-season games for the 2014-15 season, the league’s 79th year of operation. The season, comprising 1,140 games, begins on Fri., Oct. 10 and concludes on Sun., Apr. 19; each of the league’s 30 clubs will play 76 games, 38 at home and 38 on the road.

Sometimes change trickles up and other times, it trickles down. In the case of the rule changes recently adopted by the American League, it will be interesting to see whether or not those holding the levers of the NHL take notice.

At its board of governors meetings this week, the AHL passed what can only be described as radical rule alterations. And I use the term “radical” keeping in mind that significant change sometimes moves at a glacial pace in this sport. But give the AHL credit. It made positive moves on two of the most controversial, debated and polarizing issues facing the game today: fighting and shootouts.

What makes it refreshing is these rule changes were conceived and approved by “hockey guys” who are every bit as passionate about the game as their NHL brethren. In fact, the AHL’s competition and player development committees are filled with assistant GMs who are on the path to NHL upper management.

First, let’s look at fighting. AHL president Dave Andrews put forward a motion to give a game misconduct to any player who is involved in more than one fight in a game.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League today announced the following suspensions stemming from a review of the incidents in the Feb. 16 game between the Adirondack Phantoms and the Portland Pirates:

Adirondack center Kris Newbury has been suspended for four (4) games, Adirondack goaltender Cal Heeter has been suspended for three (3) games, Adirondack left wing Zack FitzGerald has been suspended for two (2) games, Adirondack center Ben Holmstrom has been suspended for one (1) game, Adirondack left wing Tye McGinn has been suspended for one (1) game and Portland right wing Kyle Hagel has been suspended for two (2) games as a consequence of their actions.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has announced that CBS Sports Network will televise Games 3 through 7 of the 2012 Calder Cup Finals, bringing the AHL’s championship series to millions of homes across the United States in high definition.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 8, 2011) - American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced today that the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic will be held at historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., on Sunday, January 29 and Monday, January 30, 2012.

The first AHL All-Star event held outside an AHL city is being made possible through the partnership of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, Caesars Entertainment and the American Hockey League.

“The American Hockey League is looking forward to working with Boardwalk Hall, the ACCVA, the CRDA and Caesars to make the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic a truly special event,” said Andrews. “The historic Boardwalk Hall will provide an incredible and appropriate backdrop for us to celebrate our league and our sport’s best young players.”

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced that the league’s Board of Governors, convening this week for its Annual Meeting in Hilton Head Island, S.C., has approved the following division alignment for the 2011-12 AHL season (NHL affiliates in parentheses):

A loooooong holiday weekend (and what I call “The Griswold Effect”) put yours truly in quite the tizzy and delayed last week’s look at the Southeast Division’s AHL affiliates off until late last night. (It also completely stymied my intended follow-up to Saturday morning’s piece about the Washington Capitals 6-0 drubbing of the Tampa Bay Lightning being a sobering dose of reality for the Bolts, which was to be about the dissatisfaction of Saturday night’s shootout loss to Florida. Oh well… Moving on…)

The latest episode of The Bolts Beat podcast will post this evening, so keep your eyes peeled for that. (I’m back in studio this week and ready to blast a few people.)

Lots to catch up on from the American League last week (including a wild, 10-8 game between Grand Rapids and Chicago, which is worth at least a look at the box score for Tomas Tatar’s 7-point showing), so let’s get right to it:

NEW YORK (October 13, 2010) – The NHL Network U.S. will put the developing talents of many of the game’s top young players on display this season when it broadcasts 10 American Hockey League games in partnership with the AHL.

Beginning on Oct. 17, when the Toronto Marlies play host to the Binghamton Senators, the NHL Network will broadcast 10 Sunday afternoon games.

As Paul has already mentioned, Michael Nylander has been loaned to the Rochester Americans, the top affiliate of the Florida Panthers. I won’t go into details about the deal because that’s been covered already and that kind of talk bores me to tears.

I wanted to talk about what I noticed last year when Nylander played for the Griffins. I was at a game between the Griffins and Aeros and was pretty excited to see what Nylander could do against minor league opponents. He was great. No one on Houston could touch him. On one power play, he got the puck along the boards and had two defenders try to trap him. He never lost control of the puck, but the Griffins never even came close to scoring.

Why?

Because no one moved around to get open. The two remaining Houston defenders cut off the passing lanes and the other four Grand Rapids players stood in place watching Nylander. I’m all for having former NHL caliber players in the minors if they still want to play (though Nylander isn’t exactly there by choice), but when the rest of the team just stops playing hockey because they expect him to win games for them, it hurts everyone. That kind of “effort” won’t fly at the NHL level, either.

Rochester had a good team last year. Not a great team, but a good team. I’m going to keep a close eye on them to see if adding a former NHL star player will help or hurt them. Predictions?

CBC and the American Hockey League (AHL) today announced a one-year broadcast agreement that will see CBC broadcast 10 games throughout the upcoming 2010-11 season.

“We’re looking forward to featuring the stars of hockey’s future with the AHL on CBC,” said Scott Moore, executive director, CBC Sports and general manager, CBC Media Sales & Marketing.

“We’re tremendously excited that CBC, with its distinguished excellence in hockey broadcasting, will be helping us celebrate our historic 75th anniversary this season,” said David Andrews, President and CEO of the American Hockey League. “Viewers across Canada will be treated to the skill and excitement of the best young professionals in our sport.”

In a summer that has been, at the very least, stabilizing (if not downright successful) for the Tampa Bay Lightning, the vast majority of those taking notice of the work done throughout the organization have come away impressed – including the club’s latest addition, Jon Cooper, announced yesterday as head coach of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals.

“The whole thing that drew me to (the club),” Cooper said, “Was the (positive) attitude and the people they’ve brought in.”

Now, included in that very group, Cooper is well aware of some fortunate timing for the two sides to come together.

“I wanted to go the AHL at some point,” explained Cooper, who leaves his post as head coach and general manager of the United States Hockey League’s Green Bay Gamblers. “I just probably didn’t think it was going to be right this second.”

But now that making that jump is indeed a reality for Cooper, his excitement and enthusiasm cannot be tempered and he gives his new bosses credit for finding him in their search.

Fans did not expect to see John Paddock stationed behind an AHL bench this season. And in no way did Paddock envision himself in such a role, either.

A scouting position with the Senators seemed Paddock’s likely role this season, some seven months after Ottawa dismissed him late in a turmoil-filled 2007-08 season. That turmoil cost the hockey veteran his long-awaited second NHL head-coaching job that had eluded him since he exited the same post with the Winnipeg Jets in the mid-1990s.

But as predictable as the hockey world can often be, it occasionally serves up something new, something different, and so Paddock returns for his first AHL coaching gig since his Binghamton Senators crashed in the 2005 Calder Cup playoffs.

Cliff Fletcher, general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced Thursday that Doug Gilmour has been appointed assistant coach of the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

“We are thrilled to have Doug join the coaching staff of the Marlies,” said Fletcher. “Doug has done so much for the Leafs organization and he brings a wealth of hockey knowledge and experience to Greg Gilbert’s staff.”

[Darren Helm] leapfrogged an awful lot of talent to go from Grand Rapids Griffin in the AHL to fourth-line centre on the Stanley Cup champs.

“Guys that I’ve played with, they just can’t believe it,” Helm said. “... My coach from last year (Medicine Hat Tigers boss Willie Desjardins), he told me he can’t believe how well I played and the fact that I won. He said it’s just such an unbelievable turnaround from last year. I feel the same way. It doesn’t happen ... almost ever.

“My goal this year was to play about five games in the NHL regular season and just be along for the ride in the playoffs. It’s starting to catch up to me now, all the things that have happened.”

“I still feel that I can play in the NHL, that I can help a team,” says Gauthier, a six-foot-three, 224-pounder. “This is not the end. I’ll be back. I just want to play in the NHL. It’s tough to be told that you’re an NHL defenceman, but you can’t play in the NHL.” Out of training camp, the Philadelphia Flyers, flush with high-priced personnel (including his Drummondville junior teammate Daniel Briere), needed cap relief. So they shoved Gauthier and his salary—$2.1 million US—across the parking lot, to the Spectrum, headquarters of the Philadelphia Phantoms.

American Hockey League President Dave Andrews gave his annual address yesterday on the state of the AHL. He covered numerous topics, including:

The league’s interest in doing an annual outdoor game to showcase the sport, given the success of the NHL’s game in Buffalo

The possibility of shortening the AHL season schedule to 72 games, and soliciting “cost share” help from the NHL in order to make up lost revenues

The fact that the AHL is “closer than ever before to having 30 teams, each one paired with an NHL affiliate. The league currently has 29 teams, and a new team in Austin, Texas, is a very real possibility.”

The veteran Peoria Rivermen goaltender abruptly quit the AHL team late Saturday night after Peoria’s loss to San Antonio, saying he wants to head back to Europe….

“Juuso Riksman told us last week he wanted to come back and play for Peoria, so we dropped Jason Bacashihua to No. 3 on the depth chart and traded him to Colorado,” St. Louis Blues director of pro scouting and Rivermen general manager Kevin McDonald said Sunday. “Then last night he told us he was going home. We want guys on this team who want to be here. Riksman will be suspended.

“I don’t know where he’s going to play. Jokerit (the Finnish team Riksman played for in 2006-07) holds his rights in Europe and does not need a goaltender. And we retain his NHL rights and control of him here.”

The St. Louis Blues and Peoria Rivermen prospect is not among the Russian players who in the past have left North America - or refused to come at all - once an NHL roster spot was not guaranteed….

“If I wanted to earn money, if that was my goal, I would stay home in the Super League,” Lemtyugov said. “I came over here to play at the world’s best level. I will work in the AHL, wait for my chance, earn it.”...

“If it’s clear I can’t play at the NHL level, I’ll go back home,” Lemtyugov said. “But finding that out could take two or three years. The AHL is the third-best league in the world (behind the NHL and Russian Super League). I understand it’s part of the process in getting to the NHL.

NHL Network today announced it has reached a one-year extension for broadcast rights to American Hockey League (AHL) games. The broadcast package provides NHL Network, in both Canada and the U.S., with 20 ‘Game of the Week’ match-ups, airing Thursdays at 7 p.m. ET throughout the remainder of the regular season. [...]

The 20-game package marks the most AHL games ever televised on NHL Network, which aired 12 AHL match-ups last season. NHL Network has been televising AHL games since the 2004/05 season.